


Hakuryuu Can't Dance

by ZanaPenumbra



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Hakuryuu in a tuxedo, Honestly I just wanted to write some Juhaku dancing, M/M, Prom Night, Secretly jealous Judal, one sided feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-21 16:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3699410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZanaPenumbra/pseuds/ZanaPenumbra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The plan was simple. Acquire tuxedo, go to prom, ask Morgiana if she wanted to dance, and...<br/>Well, he hadn't actually gotten much farther than that. But he was sure he would be able to figure things out from there.</p><p>It was just a shame Judal delighted in getting involved where he wasn't wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hakuryuu Can't Dance

It was kind of funny how stress led to a tendency for one to second-guess themselves, in a manner that wasn't humorous in the slightest unless the individual in question got some sort of masochistic kick out of their own suffering- something that Hakuryuu couldn't quite claim to have, though a small part of him kind of _wished_ that he did so he could find at least some enjoyment in his current predicament. He had straightened his tie for what was probably the fiftieth time that night- and honestly, he yearned for that particular fact to be an exaggeration, because it was actually kind of pathetic to think about- and smoothed down every imaginary hair out of place, and yet he still didn't feel completely satisfied with his appearance. 

_Ugh._

Mismatched eyes glared at him critically from the full-length mirror he was standing in front of, looking thoroughly uncomfortable in the tuxedo he had personally purchased for the occasion. What was wrong? He couldn't quite say, and it was beyond frustrating. He couldn't settle for imperfections- not on that night. Not during an event that was supposed to be such an integral part of his youthful years- not when there was a possibility that maybe, just _maybe_ , he would be able to work up the nerve to ask her for a dance and... And...

Well, Hakuryuu hadn't quite gotten that far yet- in fact, the very thought seemed to be enough to pathetically fluster him, if the embarrassing reddish tinge coloring his reflection's face was any indication- but he supposed he could always worry about that when the time came.

A small voice in the back of the young man's mind snarkily felt the need to add that doing so was essentially a roundabout way of saying he didn't have a clue.

Hakuryuu told that voice to shut up.

“ _Wow,_ what the hell are you wearing?” Another voice, this one actually outside of his head, felt the need to ask, startling him out of his thoughts. He didn't need to look over to see who it was, but Hakuryuu did anyways, grimacing at the speaker. Just as he had expected, it was Judal, leaning against the doorway to his room, unannounced and uninvited. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed, and yet there was something so perfect about his disheveled appearance that it couldn't have been anything but intentional. “Aah, I'm feeling embarrassed just _looking_ at you!”

“I didn't ask for your opinion.” Hakuryuu muttered, turning his attention back over to the mirror. Despite himself, his anxiety levels only seemed to rise- after all, if even Judal could see he looked terrible, what would his friends think? What would _Morgiana_ think? He knew he should have just written off the older male's words as pointless teasing- he had gotten quite good at tuning him out over the years- but he was in such a vulnerable position at the moment that apparently doing so was impossible.

Over his reflection's shoulder, he could see Judal watching him with uncharacteristic silence, and Hakuryuu had to remind himself not to shiver in response to the vermillion eyes he swore he could feel moving up and down his body. He should have ignored him. He should have just told him to go away, and he had started opening his mouth to do just that when the other male finally moved- in the opposite direction Hakuryuu wanted him to go, of course. “I can't look at this anymore; I can't let you embarrass yourself like this. Did I mention that this is embarrassing? Because it is. Just let me...” Before he could do anything to stop him, a hand shot out, ruffling his hair- hair that he had spent an ungodly amount of time slicking down and styling in an attempt to make it look as perfect as he possibly could. “There! _Much_ better. That looks more like you, Hakuryuu~”

He opened his mouth to reply, though the only sound he could initially produce was an undignified yelp. “What have you _done?!”_ He didn't have time to fix it; the limousine his friends had insisted on renting was likely to arrive at any time. Regardless, Hakuryuu reached up to at least try to do some damage control, though he was stopped by Judal batting away his hands.

“Oh no you don't.” When he was sufficiently convinced Hakuryuu wouldn't make another attempt to fix his hair- he had instead settled for glaring daggers at him, a sight that Judal was all too familiar with- he put his hands on his hips, the look on his face verging dangerously into pouting territory. “Only soulless businessmen slick their hair down like that. You _aren't_ a soulless businessman, are you?” The lack of a response did little to stop him from continuing. “Why are you even dressing up like that for? Are you wearing a _tuxedo?”_

Hakuryuu opened his mouth to say that it should have been obvious, only to stop himself at the last second. To anyone else, it would have been obvious, but Judal was different- Judal was “important,” too important to have ever attended a single day of mundane school in his entire life. Too busy being that woman's _pawn_. It hurt to bite back the snarky comment that threatened to surface, though he managed it, instead taking a deep breath before speaking. “It's the prom. Tonight is the prom.”

 _“What?!”_ The confused exclamation caused him to wince, and a part of Hakuryuu wondered whether Judal was really so out of touch that he needed to have the concept of a school prom explained to him. “You're getting this wound up over a shitty school dance?”

For the second time that night, he grimaced. “It's not a... _Shitty school dance,_ ” and he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the description, “it's _important_. You wouldn't understand, and I don't have time to tell you.” Hakuryuu paused then, turning his attention back to the mirror. “Now if you'll excuse me,” he said, voice filled with faux-politeness, “I need to finish getting ready.”

Judal didn't say anything in response to that, though he also didn't make any moves to leave, either. Instead he simply stood there, watching Hakuryuu with a look on his face that made it easy to picture the imaginary gears turning in his head. When he finally came to a conclusion, his features seemed to light up brightly, and he instantly reached out to grab the shorter male by the shoulder- which in turn caused Hakuryuu to frown so hard he idly wondered whether he would end up sporting stress-induced wrinkles before the ripe old age of twenty- and gave him a brisk shake. “Does that mean you have a _date?!”_

He nearly choked. “W-what?!”

“A date.” Judal repeated slowly, stopping the shaking but forgetting- perhaps intentionally- to remove his hand. “You do bring dates to those shitty school dances, right? Do you have one, Hakuryuu?”

 _“No!”_ He snapped, hating the way his voice wavered when he spoke. “No, I don't. Having a date isn't mandatory.”

“Oh.” It was difficult to gauge anything from his tone, and Hakuryuu told himself that he didn't really care, regardless. He glared daggers at his reflection, already aware that he wouldn't be able to focus with Judal hanging over him like he was. “You should take me, then!”

 _“What?!”_ He feared he was beginning to sound like a broken record. In his defense, it wasn't his fault Judal insisted on saying such preposterous things. _**“No!”**_

“Why not? You don't have a date, right? Why shouldn't you take me?” He grinned, eager and showing off far too many teeth for Hakuryuu's liking. “Come on, it could be fun! I'm _great_ at parties, you know?” He had a feeling Judal's definition of great and his definition of great were very different- first and foremost being that one presumably included vast amounts of property damage and morally questionable actions, and the other didn't.

“You're not allowed within fifty meters of the school grounds after what happened last time, remember? And, anyways...”

“I told you that it wasn't my fault!” Judal whined. Not that he was really one to obey rules and restrictions, regardless. “And anyways what?”

“... Hm?”

“And anyways _what?”_ He repeated, putting additional stress on the final word. It took Hakuryuu a moment to realize he was parroting what the male had initially assumed he had said in his head as opposed to out loud. “What else?”

Catching sight of a telltale hint of red in his reflection, he abruptly turned around, the movement causing Judal's hand to slide off of his shoulder. “Nothing! Nothing else.” Before the words were even out of his mouth, Hakuryuu already knew that wouldn't be enough to stop the inevitable slew of inquiries. But it was at least worth a shot. “Stop asking so many pointless questions.”

Judal made a displeased noise under his breath, stepping around the shorter male in an attempt to look at his face. When Hakuryuu turned the other way, he moved with him, stopping only after catching a glimpse and grinning. “Ehh? You're turning red~” The smug tone in Judal's voice made his skin crawl. “You really shouldn't lie to me, because you're kind of terrible at it. Especially when you're flustered.” He paused then, obviously awaiting a response. When he didn't get one, however, he made yet another displeased sound, prodding at his unfortunate victim. “Hey! Come _on,_ Hakuryuu, what are you hiding from me? Are you sure you don't have a date? You have a date, don't you? You just don't want to tell me, right? I promise I won't bother them _too_ much.”

“I don't have a date!” Hakuryuu snapped, jerking away in an attempt to put a stop to Judal's incessant poking. “I was just-!!” He stopped himself, suddenly painfully aware of who his audience happened to be. He hadn't confessed his intentions out loud to anyone, and he hadn't planned to, much less with Judal. Still, even while avoiding meeting his gaze, he could still see the expectant look on the other male's face out of the corner of his eye, and he let out a sigh, shoulders slumping ever so slightly in defeat. “I had someone in mind that I was going to ask to dance.”

Judal blinked, arching one eyebrow, and Hakuryuu cursed him for being so difficult to read. “Aah, is it that girl who snapped a grown man's arm in that arm-wrestling competition? Morg... ana?”

“ _Morgiana_. And don't be rude-”

“Do you even know _how_ to dance?” He blurted, and the question caught Hakuryuu so off guard that the only thing he could do initially was blink owlishly at him. “I don't think you do.”

“It can't be too difficult.” It was just dancing, wasn't it? He had always assumed it was the kind of thing one simply hopped into and somehow instinctively knew what they were doing. The revelation that it was, in fact, not that easy sent a whole new wave of butterflies- or, more accurately, angry hornets- fluttering through his stomach. 

Judal, seemingly oblivious to Hakuryuu's inner panic, simply rolled his eyes. “You're going to choke, aren't you? You're either going to choke, and you won't be able to muster up the nerve to talk to Morrigan,” Morgiana, “or you _will_ ask her to dance and then you'll make a complete fool out of yourself because you _don't_ know how! Wow, did you even _try_ to think this through? Because I don't think you did, Hakuryuu; your plan is actually pretty terrible, you know?”

“It is _not!”_ He snapped, his anxiety only fueling his defensiveness. “You barely even know what you're talking about.”

“I know more than you do.” Hakuryuu shot him a skeptical look at that, and Judal frowned, taking a few large steps back. “Alright, fine. I'll prove it.” The shorter male wasn't really sure whether he wanted him to, but before he could voice his feelings on the matter, Judal was already moving. “You walk over to her like this, and take her hand, okay?” To demonstrate, he cleared the distance he had put between them, and reached out, taking Hakuryuu's hand with uncharacteristic gentleness. When he was shot a questioning look in response to his actions, his only real reply was a smile and a light squeeze, and Hakuryuu had to resist the urge to squirm- and remind himself that he was supposed to be annoyed with him. “Would you dance with me?”

His mind went blank. “Wh.. What?!”

“That's what you say!” Judal clarified, observing his distress with what was undoubtedly amusement; it was obvious he got a kick out of making him feel flustered. “And then if you're lucky, she'll say...?”

“... Yes?” It took him a moment to realize he was being prompted to reply. There was something about the grin Judal shot him in return that was particularly dazzling, though Hakuryuu had to remind himself that the other male was a _very_ talented actor when he wanted to be, and he was presumably just trying to play the part. “Yes, I'd... I'll dance with you.”

“Good! So if she says that, then you lead her out like this...” He took a few steps back so they were standing in the middle of the room, tugging gently on Hakuryuu's hand as though he was made of something fragile. “And you put your hands on her waist.” He let go of him after that, and they both stood there in complete silence, staring at one another awkwardly. “Put your hands on my _waist_ , Hakuryuu! I'm not getting any younger over here!”

He blinked, opening his mouth without initially making any sound. “You want me to _what?!”_

“Put your hands on my waist.” Judal repeated slowly, rolling his eyes as though it should have been obvious. “That's what you need to do when _\- if-_ you go to dance with that girl!”

“But-?! I thought _you_ were pretending to be _**me**!”_ To be honest, this entire scenario was making his head spin- and he swore to himself it was _just_ because he was confused and not on account of Judal's repeated attempts to push him into getting handsy with him.

“You aren't going to be dancing with yourself, Hakuryuu. That's just pathetic and _really_ sad. Pretend I'm that girl you're lusting after if you're going to be _weird_ about this, just don't make me repeat myself again.” Biting back the urge to make a sarcastic comment, Hakuryuu reluctantly nodded and reached out to place his hands on the taller male's sides. In response, Judal let out a condescending huff, grabbing them and moving his arms down so he had a secure hold on his waist. “Like that, okay?” 

Hakuryuu tried his hardest not to think about how it felt to have Judal's hips underneath his hands, how embarrassing this entire situation was, how it would have ended up looking to anyone who just so happened to peek into his bedroom at that particular moment. He cleared his throat instead, delicately setting his most neutral expression possible into place, before nodding. “And what now?”

Instead of giving him a verbal response, Judal simply threw his arms over his shoulders and leaned in close- a little _too_ close, actually, considering their foreheads were nearly touching. “Lead me~” Hakuryuu blinked at him quizzically, and the taller of the two shot him an amused half-smile, before mercifully deciding to elaborate. “Just move, okay? You'll look really stupid if you just end up standing there.”

“How do you even know about any of this?” Still, he decided to humor him, stepping side to side in a manner that didn't have any real rhyme or reason to it. If it bothered Judal, he certainly didn't seem to show it, humming a tune Hakuryuu couldn't quite recognize under his breath and lightly tapping his fingers on his back to the rhythm. 

“How do you think?” He swayed a little bit, subtly nudging them to move in a circle as opposed to the awkward back and forth swing they had going. “I watch a lot of television. Do you know how popular shitty school dances are in movies? It's a cliché.” He paused then, red eyes meeting blue before narrowing teasingly, bright with barely concealed amusement. “Aha, you're _cliché,_ Hakuryuu~”

Hakuryuu sputtered for a moment- there was a protest in there somewhere, of course, though it was difficult to decipher- and Judal took the opportunity to lightly bump their foreheads together. “Hey, hey, what are you getting so worked up over? I'm just making an _observation~”_ He was also making it obvious that he delighted in watching Hakuryuu get flustered- something that wasn't really much of a surprise to anyone. “The guy shows up at some crappy little shindig, asks the girl to dance, the spotlight gets turned on them and they look so good together. Then years and years and years later, they get married and have a bunch of shitty little children and live happily ever after~”

He didn't think he- or Judal, for that matter- had _anything_ resembling happily ever after in their future, though he kept that particular opinion to himself. “And what does that make this?”

“Hm?” For once, Judal actually looked like he had been caught off-guard- something that Hakuryuu found more cathartic than he really should have.

“Where does this factor into your cliché high school prom fantasy? I don't remember ever seeing the protagonist needing to have a friend of his teach him how to dance; you're not the only one here who watches those movies.” Though admittedly he had never really made it a point to _intentionally_ seek them out, either- unlike his dance partner, apparently.

“ _Hmmm..._ ” He sped up a little as he thought, movements almost too fluid to be real. When Hakuryuu seemed to be having trouble keeping up, Judal took him by the hand, raising it above their heads, and spun him around without warning. It was a miracle he didn't slip and fall, to be honest, and when the older of the two thought he was dizzy enough, he abruptly stopped the twirling, pulling him in close and wrapping one arm around his waist- in part to keep him from tipping over. On reflex, Hakuryuu wrapped his arms around his neck, painfully aware both of their close proximity, and the fact that they had somehow switched positions. He swore Judal could feel his heart drumming in his chest- from the adrenaline rush, of course- though instead of calling him on it, he smiled wryly, before continuing to speak as though nothing had happened. “That all depends on what you _want_ it to be, I guess.”

He blinked at that, taking note of the look on Judal's face and how he seemed to be expectantly awaiting an answer, and wondered whether there was a certain subtext to their conversation that he was just beginning to pick up on. “What if I don't want this to be anything?”

“Ehhh? _Bullshit_.” He was ready for the spinning this time around, and as a result, didn't feel as though he was at risk of falling on his ass- though the thought that if he fell, he could always bring the other male down with him was vaguely comforting. In response, Judal grinned, deciding to up the speed and complication of their dance altogether. They spun in circles, legs intertwining but never touching, movements somehow miraculously mirrored- though Hakuryuu was admittedly a second behind, allowing Judal to lead him however he wished partially because he grudgingly had to admit he had more experience, but also just because he seemed to be enjoying himself, and he wasn't heartless enough to try to ruin it.

As time went on, they appeared to become more synchronized as Hakuryuu picked up on the rhyme and reason to what had previously been an incomprehensible series of random movements. The tune that Judal insisted on humming intermittently under his breath, tapping out with one finger on the back of his hand, on his hip, on his shoulders, almost seemed to come to life in his head- he could feel the bass rumbling in his chest, the thump of drums, unrefined, hectic but also so very alive, and he felt a laugh bubbling up in his throat despite himself on more than one occasion.

He thought he caught Judal smiling once or twice, too. Not a smirk, or a grin that was uncomfortably toothy or vicious, but something _real_ and _delighted_ that caused his head to spin.

Wrapping an arm around his waist again, and holding tightly onto one hand, Judal brought him down for a dip, pausing only when it came time for him to pull Hakuryuu back up again. They stared at one another, both equally breathless, before the older of the two decided to finally speak. “Does this _really_ seem like nothing to you?”

“Huh?” The question had caught him off guard, bringing him back to reality. Their faces were close again, too close, though he wasn't really as uncomfortable with that than he probably should have been.

“We make a good team, you know? Together?” Hakuryuu blinked. “You were having fun, weren't you?”

“I...” Red eyes searched his face for an answer, and he closed his own, desperately trying to gather together thoughts that seemed to slip through his mental fingers like smoke. “Yes.” He opened his eyes a moment later, shooting Judal a small, tentative smile. “I guess I was.”

The grin he got in turn was dazzling- pure, triumphant happiness. He moved closer just a fraction, and Hakuryuu closed his eyes despite himself, feeling their lips brush, pushing down that annoying little voice in his head that felt the need to question what the hell was going on and why was he so incredibly okay with this and wasn't he supposed to be falling for Morgiana and not beautiful, annoying troublemakers with bright red eyes who could move with him so fluidly it was like they were one in the same and-

A horn beeped outside. The arms holding him up abruptly receded, and Hakuryuu found himself hitting the ground without warning. He opened his eyes, shooting Judal a glare, both to showcase his annoyance, and silently ask him what in the world that was for, but the older male was already backtracking, his expression casual, but also carefully guarded, the genuine emotion all but washed away from his features. 

“Your friends are here.” He explained with a shrug, gesturing with one hand to a nearby window while the other traced the doorway. “You should get going. You don't want to miss your chance to dance with that _girl,_ do you~?”

Hakuryuu opened his mouth to reply, but another beep caused his gaze to flicker away for a moment, and by the time he looked back, Judal was gone.

There was a weight pushing down on his chest that he couldn't describe, but he got to his feet, regardless, thoughtlessly running his fingers through his hair before turning around to leave.

He didn't dance with Morgiana that night, instead opting to sit back at the table and watch as she twirled in graceful circles with Alibaba. Aladdin sat with him for a time, partially out of sympathy he suspected, until Hakuryuu shooed him away so he could go and enjoy himself with the others; it was unfair to make him suffer just because he couldn't get his act together.

Though in his defense, it wasn't _his_ fault his thoughts were filled with memories of vermillion eyes, gentle touches and ambiguous songs he couldn't quite place.

 _“What if I don't want this to be anything?”_ He had said, and convinced himself he fully believed it at the time. 

_“Does this really seem like nothing to you?”_

Hakuryuu sighed, closing his eyes and gingerly pressing a pair of fingers to his lips.

_Dammit, Judal._

**Author's Note:**

> I've never actually posted anything on this site before, but I had a mighty need to write some Juhaku, so I hope it turned out alright. ;w; I have a couple other fics I started writing with this ship that aren't quite near completion yet, but once I'm done working on them, I'm probably going to be posting them here as well.
> 
> This was supposed to be a lot shorter, but aaahh, I have so much trouble with that kind of thing.


End file.
